Oh my goodness, this series is so much fun! I loved this second book every bit as much as the first. It was great to see Abigail assert herself more and get to flex her paleontology muscles and get a glimpse of what might have been had her first fateful dig not failed so miserably. Still, I can’t be anything but grateful for the failure that set her on the path to employment with Jackaby. These two may be my favorite duo of supernatural investigators.

I don’t think I’m going to be able to review this without squeeing inarticulately and dropping heaps of spoilers, so I’ll just say it’s a quick (too quick! I want more!), fun (so much fun!) read and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book.

So it may help to read the first one in order to grasp a bit of understanding of the character relationships and the overall plot (there’s a main one underneath the layers here)

***Possible spoilers here you’ve been warned***

I loved the first one, really liked the characters and Jackaby’s quirkiness. With this one though, it’s a different type of case, albeit still with a supernatural/fantastical element but it felt like you were reading an Indiana Jones type of adventure. Which is all right and it made things different and interesting but I was looking forward to something a little more darker and spookier.

However, the adventure aspect with the missing bones was still well written and enjoyable to read. It took more of a comedic tone and I enjoyed the fighting between Lamb and Horner over the bones while poor Charlie seems to be always stuck in the middle of each argument. Abigail really shined in this one with her passion of dinosaur bones, she was in her element and showed how much she loved doing the job despite the obstacles she had because of her father and society. She really stepped up and developed a lot in this book.

And yes! She breaks the tension with Charlie!!! Finally! It was all throughout the novel until she finally took matters into her own hands. I like them both together. They seem to complement each other well enough even though it seems she has a much more determined and strong minded temperament whereas Charlie is more mellow and laid back. Well maybe Abigail will slowly bring him out of his shell?

What I enjoyed the most about this plot is there’s an even deeper and darker story underneath and this was just a diversion. That pale man is creepy and I hope it gets explored more in the next book as it features Jenny’s story too. This was a fun read but I’ll be happier going onto much darker things in the story.

Abigail Rook is a naïve young woman that has left her parents to answer to a flier that said "EXCITING OPPORTUNITY". It shortly fell through, as anyone could guess, and she ended up buying a ticket on a giant ship. There is no way this girl would let her parents win. She has been denied adventure all of her life. Now, the reigns are in her hands.

When she ports, she goes to a bar and a man approaches her, asking her all about her travels, like he was on the ship riding next to her the entire time. Instead, she asks and he informs her that he is some type of investigator. When he leaves the bar, she asks around who the man was. They all tell her that he's R.F Jackaby. And that he swears by mermaids.

She starts looking for a job and everyone tells her to go to the Post Office. There, she finds another flier…….

This one reads: INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES NEEDED.

So, she takes a ticket and goes to the address.

It's Jackaby.

From here on out it's crazy werewolves and cute detectives. Friendly ghosts and human ducks. And a law system that is slowly falling apart……..from the top down

If you can appreciate an unexpected turn of events all of a sudden, you will be in for a treat. This book will deliver.

This book was a little slow to start. However I find that because the characters are so interesting and have their own quirks you find yourself sticking to the story because they’re so fascinating.

When I was reading about Jackaby and his character he bears the resemblance of an unorthodox detective whose social skills are rather lacking (speaks his mind without realizing he’s offending) but who happens to be brilliant at what he does and those in the police force grudgingly accept his help because they have no one else to turn to. So in turn you can see why Abigail is needed in this partnership. She provides the social skills and provides insight on things that Jackaby might miss. Which is why they make an interesting team.

Although he’s eccentric and Abigail may come off as ‘normal’ they both are similar because they both don’t stick to the social norms that society at the time (18th century USA) which is why they make good teamwork. Not to mention, Abigail is also searching for adventure and working with Jackaby provided just that.

The world building is interesting and good. There’s supernatural elements and creatures throughout the city in hiding. Those with special vision (Jackaby) would be able to spot them whereas Abigail accepts this - a little too accepting but going with the notion that she needed to find employment right away to survive, I suppose beggars can’t be choosers. It still ended up being the right choice anyway.

Other secondary characters (Jenny and Douglas) are good fillers to provide more substance to Jackaby’s world. I enjoyed reading about Charlie and I hope he makes another appearance in the next novel.

I would say, stick to the story because of the characters that you end up liking as the book progresses. It does get exciting in the last third of the book despite the lack of momentum in the beginning. It was still an enjoyable read.

This is my new train audio book, and I'm quite delighted with this Sherlock-esque character who dabbles in cases regarding the supernatural. I admit, I mostly picked this because of the cover. I never bothered to read the synopsis. Now, I'm glad about that! This has been a fun adventure so far.

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